


Shattered

by clairevxyance



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Aqua could step on Terra and he would thank her, Aqua works as a barista/gym instructor, Axel is Babysitter Supreme, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, M/M, Past Character Death, Side Akuroku, Single Parents, Single Parents AU, Terra is awkward af, Terra works at a daycare, Tragic Backstories: Must be Level 5 to Unlock, Vani and Ven are classmates, Verbal Abuse, past toxic relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-30
Updated: 2018-11-11
Packaged: 2019-05-30 21:55:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15105638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clairevxyance/pseuds/clairevxyance
Summary: Aqua Fair is left to raise her son, Ventus, by herself after the untimely death of her husband. Terra Hale is at the end of his rope, trying to raise his troublesome son, Vanitas, after his wife got up and left. The pair are hardly holding it together, but they realize they don't have to.Rating may change.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written fics in forever and I sorely miss it. This is a bit of an old one I had sitting on my laptop and I finally got the nerve to finish this chapter! Sorry if this seems a bit choppy, I'm getting back into the groove of writing fanfics again

Aqua was shocked to say the least when her son’s elementary school called, saying that he had gotten into an argument with one of his classmates. After a short exchange with her supervisor, she gathered her belongings, left work only slightly early, and rushed over to the school.

Thoughts were bouncing around in her head on the drive over. Ven was the quietest, most tranquil little five-year old she knew. How could he have possibly been in trouble?

The elementary school came into view. She turned into the parking lot and killed the engine. Aqua scrambled out of the driver’s seat and up towards the entrance. She smoothed out her wild hair and her rumpled clothes as she walked. Once inside, she attempted to walk calmly in the direction of the kindergarten wing. It looked like the rest of the school had been dismissed for the afternoon, but she assumed that Ven’s teacher was still in the classroom with him. Aqua reached the door and walked inside.

Ms. Gainsborough was sitting at a ridiculously tiny table with a crying Ventus and a grumpy looking kid with spiky black hair. Ms. Gainsborough looked up when she entered the room, as did Ven and the other boy. Aqua quickly made her way over to her son and dropped to her knees in front of him. She pulled him into an embrace, and he pressed his face to her shoulder. Ven was clutching the fabric of Aqua’s shirt with one hand and the other he held his stuffed Chocobo doll. Aqua pressed a kiss to the top of his head and rubbed circles into the little boy’s back. She looked up at his teacher.

“What happened?” she asked.

Ms. Gainsborough smiled tiredly. “What I heard from the lunch aid was that Ventus had brought his doll outside with him during recess, and Vanitas had tried to take it. Ventus started crying, and then Vanitas had managed to take it and ripped its wing in the process, which resulted in Ventus getting even more upset. When he tried to get it back, Vanitas had hit him, and that’s when the aid came over to sort it out. I’ve called Mr. Hale as well—”

“I’m sorry, he _hit_ Ventus?” Aqua asked in disbelief. The boy sitting on the other side of Ms. Gainsborough lowered his gaze to the floor, his little arms folded across his chest. Aqua pulled Ventus away from her to look at him. “Where did he hit you?”

Ventus wiped at his eyes and pointed to his shoulder. He was sniffling and hiccupping now. Aqua pulled back the sleeve of his shirt and was relieved to see that his skin wasn’t bruising.

“Where are this boy’s parents?” Aqua asked as she stood up. She could not _believe_ that another boy had hit Ven.

Ms. Gainsborough looked worried for a moment. “I called his father, but it went to voicemail. Hopefully he got the message, and he’s on his way.”

Behind her, Aqua heard the door swing open and then close shut. Heavy footsteps followed. Ms. Gainsborough’s eyebrows scrunched together in apprehension as she looked at the person behind Aqua’s back. “Oh, Mr. Hale—”

Aqua rose to her feet. She turned on her heel and jabbed a finger into Mr. Hale’s chest when he got close enough. Her brow furrowed as she raised her head to look at him. “Do you have any idea how to raise a child? I don’t know what your parents taught you, but my parents—”

The words died in her throat as she locked eyes with him. Mr. Hale’s eyes were a soft shade of baby blue, framed by long dark lashes. His eyes stared back into hers with a warm intensity despite the color of them. Aqua tore her eyes away from his to study him; strong, sharp jawline, tanned skin, long, shaggy chocolate brown hair that framed his face. He was dressed casually; his red polo was half tucked into his jeans, and he wore work boots.

Mr. Hale blinked slowly at her. “What about your parents?” he asked in a smooth baritone.

Aqua blinked, dumbfounded, at the brunet before her. She shook her head, snapped out of her stupor, and furrowed her brow once again. “My parents raised me so that I didn’t lay a hand on somebody else.”

Mr. Hale’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. He looked over Aqua’s shoulder to look at his son. “Vanitas, did you hit her son?”

Aqua turned to look at the other little boy. His little arms were folded across his chest, and his golden eyes were cast downwards to the linoleum floor. He spoke in the mumble that little kids use when they know they’re in trouble.

“I just wanted to play with his stupid stuffed animal,” Vanitas muttered. “But he was being a crybaby about it.”

Mr. Hale let out an exasperated sigh. He walked over to Vanitas and dropped to one knee in front of him, leaning his elbow on his other knee. “Vani, you can’t just hit other kids and take their toys when you want them.” Mr. Hale looked over at Ventus who was peeking out behind his mother’s leg. Ven carefully held his Chocobo doll by its undamaged wing. “Oh, Jesus Vani, you ripped it too? Did you apologize to him at least?”

The little boy’s eyes flicked up to look at his father. His tough guy act broke the scowl on his face, if even for only a moment. His golden eyes glassed over as if he was about to cry, but he gained control of himself again. Vanitas shook his head. Mr. Hale’s eyes hardened. “Vanitas—”

“Fine, alright,” the little boy mumbled. He looked up at his father who then nodded his head in Aqua and Ventus’s direction. Vanitas slid from his chair and dragged his feet over to them. He shoved his fists as far as they would go into the front pockets of his jeans. Ven poked out from behind his mother again.

“’m sorry I ripped your toy,” Vanitas mumbled, looking away from the blond.

Mr. Hale had stood back up again. “And?”

Vanitas looked over his shoulder at his father, a pout evident on his lips. He looked at Ventus this time. “A-and I’m sorry I hit you.”

Ventus scooted out from behind his mother a bit. “S’okay, I forgive you. Mommy can fix my Chocobo, she’s reeeeally good at sewing.”

Ms. Gainsborough sighed in what seemed like relief. She stood up. “Now Vanitas, you’re not off the hook. You’ll have to stay inside for recess for the next couple of days.”

Vanitas mumbled and looked at the floor. Aqua thanked her for letting her know what happened and herded Ventus towards the door. Mr. Hale hung back a minute to speak with Ms. Gainsborough.

“How was the rest of your school day, Ven? Besides what happened at recess?” Aqua asked as she rummaged through her purse to find her keys. She needed to get a smaller bag for crying out loud.

Ven’s face lit up. “We learned about penguins today, mommy! There are all different kinds. My favorite is the Emperor penguin. Did you know that if one penguin gives another penguin a rock that means that penguin wants to marry the other one? Did you know that, mommy?”

Aqua triumphantly clutched her keys and looked down at her son. “No, I didn’t know that, Ven.”

She reached out for his hand as they walked out the front entrance. They were halfway to the street when she heard heavy footsteps behind her.

“Uh, excuse me, miss…” Aqua turned to find Mr. Hale catching up to her, Vanitas trailing behind. He looked to her to complete his sentence. Aqua put on her straightest face.

“Fair. Miss Fair,” she said flippantly. A flash of nervousness passed over Mr. Hale’s face, but he cleared his throat and squared his shoulders.

“Miss Fair,” he said, and Aqua hated herself for how nicely it rolled off of his tongue. “I wanted to apologize for my son’s behavior—I wanted to know if there was something I could do to make it up to you? Maybe I could take you out to get coffee or—”

Aqua realized where this was going and laughed awkwardly, breaking her stone demeanor. Mr. Hale blanched, wide-eyed, and his jaw clenched. She tucked her hair behind her ear: a nervous habit. “I’m flattered, really, but you really don’t have to. Besides, I work a lot of the time and sometimes it’s a pain to find a sitter for Ventus—"

“No, I-I understand,” Mr. Hale stammered. His shoulders dropped. The disappointed look in his eyes didn’t last for long. “Sorry again for Vanitas. He has a hard time around other kids.”

Aqua sighed, half in relief. “It’s alright, Mr. Hale.”

“Terra,” he corrected her. “Please call me Terra.”

Aqua nodded with a smile and said goodbye to Terra and little Vanitas. She walked hand in hand with Ventus to her beat up minivan, buckled him into the car seat, and drove in the direction of their apartment complex.

Ven was quiet for part of the ride. When they pulled into the parking lot of their apartment building, he piped up quietly.

“Vanitas isn’t a bad kid, mommy,” he said as Aqua turned the car off. She looked at him through the rearview mirror. “The other kids just think he’s bad. I wanna be his friend, so that the other kids won’t think he’s so bad.”

She looked forward again, pensive. A small smile curled her lips. “I’m sure he’s a good kid, Ven.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aqua done fucked UP

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys!! I'm really excited about this fic and this chapter seems kinda filler-y to me but I promise if you sit tight I'll get somewhere with it. Ty for reading!

Aqua woke up the next day and rolled over to look at the alarm clock on the nightstand. She immediately shot out of bed. The clock read 10:34, and she had a shift at the coffee shop at eleven.

She hurriedly got into the bathroom and looked herself over in the mirror. Her blue hair stuck up at odd angles from sleeping on it. Aqua fumbled for her hairbrush and smoothed it out as much as she could. She ran back into her bedroom and tore through her closet, picking a simple pair of blue jeans and a black pullover sweatshirt. She tugged on her sneakers and walked into the next room to find Ventus in front of the TV, still in his pajamas.

“Ven, honey,” she called to him as she rummaged through her purse for her keys. “Go get dressed and grab your backpack, you’re going over to stay with Mr. Axel across the hall.”

Ven’s face lit up. “Is Sora over? Is he, is he?!”

“I don’t know, but if you hurry up maybe he’ll be there.”

Ventus nodded as he made to go change out of his pajamas. A few minutes later, he came out of his room with his backpack slung over his shoulders. Aqua stuck the spare set of keys to the apartment in his backpack just in case he needed something.

Aqua herded Ventus towards the door while shutting off the lights and double checking her purse to make sure she had everything. Once she was sure the contents of her purse included all that she needed, Aqua closed and locked the door behind them. Ventus was already across the hall knocking on the door.

Aqua turned around to find that the door across the hall was open, revealing a very disheveled Axel. He leaned against the door frame, lithe arms folded across his chest. He wore a simple black tank top and baggy black sweats that bunched at his ankles. Axel’s hair was unkempt, as it usually was, but even more so because it looked like he had just rolled out of bed. He raised his sleep glazed eyes at Aqua and gave yawn.

“Axel, I’m sorry to have woken you, but I’m running late and—”

“It’s okay, really,” Axel yawned again and looked down Ventus. “You ready to have fun today, squirt? Rox is coming by to drop Sora off later so the two of you can play together.”

Ventus nodded vehemently and squeezed past Axel’s frame and into his apartment. He chuckled quietly.

“Thanks again, Axel. I appreciate it,” Aqua said as she backed down the hallway. Axel nodded his head of fiery hair and gave her half a wave before closing the door again.

Aqua turned around and raced towards the elevator at the end of the hall. An “Out of Order” sign hung crookedly on the doors. She cursed under her breath and turned to the door that led to the flights of stairs.

After rushing down the flight of stairs, Aqua checked the time on her phone—10:46. Damn it. Aqua practically leaped off the second-to-last step, barreled through the door and out into the parking lot. She jammed her key into the lock on her van and got in before she barely had a chance to open the door. The key was turned in the ignition before Aqua had the door closed, but the engine wasn’t starting properly. She grunted as she tried and tried to get it to start. Eventually, on the third or fourth turn of the key, the engine came to life. Aqua sighed in relief and never drove so fast (while simultaneously obeying the speed limit) in her life. Aqua could _not_ risk being super late to this job—she just started only two weeks ago after realizing her job at the gym wasn’t enough to support her and Ven. Aqua really needed this job, or else she probably would have to move back in with her parents, which was something she definitely did not want to do.

Aqua managed to get to work and was only a few minutes late. She pushed her way past the line of customers and got behind the counter, throwing on an apron while punching in. Her coworker finished ringing up the customer he was with and threw a glance at Aqua over his shoulder.

“Don’t let Leon see that you’re late!” Demyx whispered, exasperated. “He’ll rip you a new one.”

“I know, I know,” she answered, pinning her name badge to her shirt and opening the other register. The drawer popped open but Aqua shut it immediately. She didn’t bother to count it; if she was off by a couple dollars she would take the criticism for it. Aqua was just relieved that she wasn’t entirely late.

There was still a pretty decent line of customers that were waiting to be helped. Aqua and Demyx took turns ringing customers up and making their drinks. They had made a dent in the line, but more people were coming in for the lunch rush. The little coffee shop was starting to get packed; it was late September which meant school was in full swing. There was a university not too far from the shop—maybe a ten-minute drive—and a lot of the students liked to come here to study. It was unfortunate though, because seating was limited and there were plenty of customers who weren’t students that wanted to sit in the shop.

The line never seemed to end, which probably wasn’t a bad thing. It kept Aqua busy which meant she wasn’t looking at the clock every five seconds, wondering when her shift would be over. By the time the line finally started to lighten up, it was already three o’clock.

Demyx sighed in relief as he untied his apron. “I’m going on my break. Hold down the fort?”

“Yeah, I got it,” Aqua laughed. “Enjoy your break.”

While the shop was quiet, Aqua took the opportunity to clean. Coffee grinds, spilled milk, and melting ice cubes were scattered across the floor. Smudges of chocolate and spots of whipped cream covered the counters. With her back to the registers, she started to scrub at the dried bits of chocolate around the sink. She didn’t get very far when she heard the bell over the door ring. Aqua’s shoulders slumped, and she threw down the rag. She turned around towards the register.

“How can I help—” Aqua’a voice faltered when she got a good look at the person on the other side of the counter.

It was Terra.

“—you,” she finished quietly.

Terra looked surprised to see her on the other side of the counter. He was dressed in a rumpled red collared shirt and plain jeans. Terra’s hands were shoved in his pockets, and his hair chocolate brown hair was tousled in such a way that it made Aqua relax, if only a little.

“You—you work here?” Terra asked incredulously. “I come here almost every day, but I haven’t seen you before?”

Aqua tucked her hair behind her ear. “I just started here recently. I work at the gym over on seventh street, too.”

“Oh,” was all Terra managed to say. A look of confusion washed over his face. “Who watches Ventus while you’re working so hard then?”

Aqua let herself giggle. She tapped her fingers on the counter. “My neighbor across the hall usually watches him for me when I work on the weekends. He’s such a lifesaver—”

“I thought you said it was hard to find a sitter for him?” Terra asked quietly.

Aqua blanched. She froze in her place and stared at him. Hurt flashed in his soft blue eyes for a moment, but it wasn’t there for long. Had Aqua imagined it? Probably not. Her shoulders tensed as she prepared her answer.

“I’m sorry, Terra,” Aqua sighed. “I was flattered by your offer, really, but I’m just not ready for a relationship or dating at the moment—”

“Could you hurry up?” the girl behind Terra said with a hint of annoyance in her voice. They both looked at her.

Terra gave his order, and Aqua rang him up. Since Demyx was still on his break, Aqua made his drink too; a latte with two sugars. She was about to put the cup out on the counter but retracted it. Aqua took the sharpie from her pocket and scribbled her number on his cup. Terra watched as she slid it across the counter to him.

“I’d like to get to know you, Terra,” she said as he took the cup and inspected the writing on it.

Terra’s face flushed. He glanced down at her name badge. “I’d like that too, Aqua.”

Her name rolled off his tongue so smooth, it almost made her melt. Terra thanked her for the drink, and she watched as he walked out of the shop. A small smile graced her features. Aqua was looking forward to getting to know him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it's been so long! I was super stuck on where to go with this, but now I finally have some direction! This chapter's a little longer than the others, so I hope you guys enjoy. Comments and kudos are very much appreciated!

Terra sat and stared at the coffee cup with Aqua’s number written neatly on it. It was only yesterday that he had seen her at the coffee shop, but it felt much longer. He hadn’t programmed the number into his phone yet because Terra knew that as soon as he had a contact for her, that he would text her nonstop. Which, Terra knew, was not what Aqua wanted.

The coffee cup sat on the kitchen counter. It would stay there until Terra grew a pair and put her number in his phone. Something he couldn’t admit to himself was that Aqua was _way_ out of his league anyways, and that her accepting to go on a date with him would probably _not_ happen in the next six billion years. He sighed and decided that getting to know her as a friend and fellow single (he hoped) parent would have to do for now.

Terra realized what he had thought; was Aqua even single? Terra hadn’t even thought of that.

But then that wouldn’t make sense if she was married or with someone—Aqua had said that someone had to watch Ventus when she worked weekends and that she wasn’t interested in dating at the moment. Terra blinked dumbly.

 _Getting yourself worked up over nothing,_ he thought sheepishly.

Terra heard quiet footsteps approaching the little kitchen. He turned his head just in time to see Vanitas clamber up onto the chair next to him. His little face contorted with a mixture of sleepiness and grumpiness that was much too adorable for Terra to handle. He ruffled Vanitas’s already tousled black hair which caused him to grunt at his dad.

“Stop it,” he whined as he swatted Terra’s hand away.

Terra chuckled. “Too early for you, sport?” Vanitas only grunted again in response.

“’m hungry,” Vanitas mumbled and folded his arms tightly across his chest. Terra got up from the table and crossed over to the pantry in their little kitchen.

“Hi, Hungry, I’m Dad,” Terra responded levelly as he rummaged around to find Vanitas’s favorite cereal. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Vanitas groaned, and Terra heard him slide down in his chair. “My name’s _Vanitas_ , dad! Not hungry!”

“Are you _sure_? I could’ve sworn you just said you were Hungry.”Terra padded over to the fridge for the milk and then to table. He placed the milk and the box of tooth-rotting cereal on the table. Vanitas, forgetting Terra’s awful dad joke, sat up and tried reaching for it, but his arms were too short. Terra came back to the table again with a bowl and spoon. Vanitas sat on his knees in the chair and snatched the box of cereal. He tipped the box so that it was almost straight up and down over the bowl. Terra quickly tipped it in his son’s hands, so it wasn’t so perpendicular and so the cereal wouldn’t scatter across the table and floor. Terra poured the milk for him, and Vanitas started to munch hastily on his breakfast.

Terra watched him for a moment. Vanitas’s raven black hair shone in the bright morning light streaming in from the little window in the kitchen. His hair caught the light in such a way that the blue undertones were clearly visible. Terra felt his breath hitch in his chest when Vanitas gazed up at him, except it wasn’t Vanitas’s face that looked to him. The lashes framing the eyes were longer. Faint freckles dusted the bridge of the nose, and those eyes were _not_ Vanitas’s. They were hazel with unmistakable rings of gold and green, with irritated blood vessels threatening to surround them.

Terra shook his head, blinking rapidly, and the vision melted away. Terra’s heart hammered in his chest. Terra hated this. He wanted it to stop, but his awful memories wouldn’t let him rest. Why couldn’t he just forget about it already? He was lost in thought until Vanitas spoke up.

“Am I going to grandpa’s today?” he asked around the last mouthful of his cereal.

“Uh,” Terra said intelligently. He was still trying to gather his thoughts. “No. He’s busy today, so you’re coming to work with me.”

Vanitas groaned loudly and slid from the chair. Terra got up to clean up after him. Vanitas was mumbling about how dumb the other kids were at the daycare, and that he would rather go to grandpa’s house. Terra followed after his son.

“You know it’s good to play with other kids your age,” he said as he helped Vanitas pack a bag.

“Other kids don’t like me,” Vanitas grumbled as he aggressively shoved some of his action figures in his backpack.

Terra paused for a moment. “Now you know that’s not true.”

“But it _is_!” Vanitas nearly shouted. “They don’t play with me because they don’t like me!”

“Well maybe if you gave the other kids a _chance_ , maybe they would play with you.”

Vanitas continued to grumble under his breath as he shoved a coloring book and a set of crayons in his bag. Terra sighed. He knew it wouldn’t be of any use to try to argue with his son, as Vanitas was as hot-headed as they come. He walked out of the room to let Vanitas cool off.

Terra glanced at the wall clock in the kitchen; he had to start getting ready for his shift.

* * *

 

Terra arrived at Radiant Garden Daycare just before his shift started. Vanitas clutched his hand as Terra led him inside. Yuffie greeted them at the door with a big smile and an energetic wave. She was younger than Terra—maybe 19 or 20—and she went to the university in town. Yuffie worked once or twice a week because of her busy school schedule, but Terra enjoyed her company. She was good with the kids and had her work cut out for her.

“Hey, Yuffie,” Terra greeted her.

“Hi Terra!” she said. “I see you brought the runt with you today.”

“I’m not a runt!” Vanitas protested, stomping his foot in aggravation. “Tell her, dad!”

Terra chuckled. “I don’t think I can.”

Vanitas groaned exasperatedly and stormed off in the direction of the other kids. Terra watched as his son set himself up in the back at a table nobody else was using. Terra sighed as he accepted the apron Yuffie handed him.

“Is he still having a hard time?” Yuffie asked quietly.

“You could say that,” Terra replied. He pulled the apron over his head and tied it around his waist.

His shift started like any other shift; many of the regular kids were there, already making messes out of the arts and craft corner. Terra spent a good part of the beginning of his shift helping them wash paint off from all over their arms and faces. One of the girls had managed to get glitter in her hair. He finished wiping the last of the paint off the last boy and sent him on his way.

Once he was done with that, Yuffie claimed it was lunch time. All of the kids rushed passed her to their little cubbies and dug around for their lunch boxes.

“Make sure you wash up before you eat!” Yuffie exclaimed sternly over the volume of the children’s excitement. A majority of them had listened, but Terra spotted a few that had dug right into their food. Terra looked over at the back table where Vanitas sat all alone. He crossed the room and sat in the tiniest chair he probably ever sat in. Terra felt ridiculous—like a giant at a normal sized table, his knees almost level with his chest. Nonetheless, he looked over at his son.

“Why aren’t you sitting with the other kids?” Terra asked softly.

Vanitas tore a piece of his sandwich and mumbled around it. “’Cause I’m different.”

Terra couldn’t help but feel bad for him. Terra knew that Vanitas was always the odd one out when it came to other kids his age, but he never had the heart to tell him. Vanitas’s temperament was one of what other parents might consider “being a brat”, but Terra was patient with him.

“Have you asked to play with any of them?” Terra tried.

“No,” Vanitas said, looking down at his lunchbox, refusing to look up at his dad. “I already know they don’t want to play with me.”

Terra sighed. “How do you know if you don’t ask? You can’t wait for them to come ask you, because if you do, they might not want to. They’ll see you sitting all alone and figure that you _want_ to be left alone.”

Vanitas continued to stare at his lunch. His eyes looked glassy, but Terra didn’t say anything. There was nothing Vanitas hated more than pointing out that he was going to cry. Terra ruffled his hair and pushed himself to his feet without knocking over the tiny chair he was sitting in.

Vanitas spent the remainder of Terra’s shift by himself. At one point, Vanitas had moved himself over to the play area where he dumped out all his actions figures, but he still remained alone. As it got closer to the end of his shift, parents started to pick their children up. Yuffie went around the rooms and cleaned while Terra saw the children off. Once Vanitas was the only one left, Terra flipped the sign on the door to _Closed_.

Terra helped Yuffie with the last bit of washing down the tables and making sure books were in their rightful place. Vanitas waited at the table he had been sitting at all day with his jacket on and his backpack in his lap. His gold eyes looked pensive, as pensive as a five-year-old could be. Terra untied his apron and stuck it behind the front counter, swapping it for his jacket.

“Vani,” he called. Vanitas looked up at him suddenly. “Time to go, kiddo.”

He slid quietly from his chair and slung his backpack across his shoulders. Vanitas padded over to his father and immediately took hold of his hand without a word. He began to pull Terra towards the door, but Terra pulled him back lightly.

“Aren’t you going to say goodbye to Miss Yuffie?” he asked quietly.

Vanitas huffed in annoyance. He looked over his shoulder at her. “Goodbye, Miss Yuffie,” Vanitas half groaned.

“Bye Vanitas!” Yuffie called. “Tell your dad to bring you back more often, yeah? We like having you here.”

Vanitas’s cheeks tinged pink, and he mumbled a “whatever” under his breath. Terra said goodbye to her as well, and they walked out the door. Vanitas huddled close to him as they walked down the street to the parking lot. Autumn was underway; the leaves were beginning to change color, and the temperature was dropping steadily. The wind blew past them as they walked.

Terra found his car—a beat-up gray Honda—and buckled Vanitas in. He was still silent, not having said a word since they left. Terra turned the key in the ignition and drove off.

It was completely silent for the first half of the ride. The radio in the car was busted—Terra had been meaning to get it fixed—and it was unlike Vanitas to be mute. He glanced at him through the rearview mirror. Vanitas’s arms were folded tightly across his chest. He stared at his shoes, pouting.

“What’s the matter, Vani?” Terra asked.

Terra heard Vanitas shift in his seat. He mumbled something that Terra didn’t quite catch.

“You have to speak up, I can’t hear you.”

Vanitas heaved a heavy sigh. “I _said_ , why do all the other stupid kids have moms? Where’s _my_ mom?”

Terra’s heart hammered in his chest again. He nearly slammed on the brakes in the middle of the intersection he was crossing but didn’t. The sound of shattering glass and a woman’s voice yelling echoed in his mind. He felt himself beginning to choke up. _Damn it, not now._

“Your mother,” Terra’s voice cracked. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Your mother wasn’t a very nice person.

“What did she do?” Vanitas asked. “Is that why she doesn’t live with us?”

“ _Vanitas_ ,” Terra hissed, his tone edged with a warning. His breath hitched in his chest again, and he was worried that he was going to have a full-blown panic attack right before they got back to the complex. Luckily, the complex was coming up, and Terra turned into it. His usual spot was empty, so he took it. He hastily put the car in park. Terra fell back against the seat and balled his fists tightly. He tried to steady his breathing; he was probably scaring Vanitas. Terra took a deep breath. His body shook.

“Sorry, Vanitas,” he said, just above a whisper. “For snapping. I didn’t mean to.”

Terra looked back at Vanitas. His gold eyes glinted in the fluorescent lights outside the complex. Vanitas looked at him for a moment, unbuckled his seatbelt, and stood behind Terra’s seat, wrapping his little arms around as much of his dad as he could. Terra’s heart melted, and he put a hand over Vanitas’s.

“Let’s go upstairs, kiddo.”

* * *

 

_It was a night like any other._

_Terra had gotten home from work. Vanitas was asleep in his crib. His wife sat at the counter, a half-finished bottle of wine not two feet away from her. A glass was balanced precariously between her fingers. Her cheeks were flushed. Her hazel eyes bore into him from her seat._

_“Where’ve you been?” she slurred._

_Terra put his jacket on the hook near the doorway. He didn’t look at her. “At work,” he answered shortly._

_“_ Bull _,” she slammed her fist on the counter. “_ Shit _! How do I know you’re not seeing some other whore behind my back, huh? Am I not good enough?”_

_Terra swallowed hard. “I told you I was at work, so I was at work. Why don’t you just believe me? We do this every night.”_

_“Not every night.”_

_“_ Yes _, every night, hun,” Terra sighed. “Put the glass down, you’re drunk.”_

_She stared at him and slammed the cup part of the glass down on the counter without breaking eye contact. Glass shards and the rest of the wine spilled everywhere. She held the jagged glass near her throat. Terra tensed._

_“So help me God, Terra, the next time you lie to me I_ will _push this glass into my throat,” she hissed through gritted teeth. She put the glass down on the counter, and she continued to stare at him with wide, bloodshot eyes. Terra squared his shoulders, trying to hide the fact that he was shaking like no tomorrow. She crossed the apartment to their bedroom, all the while staring at him._

_She stopped halfway across, looking at the floor. She looked at him again. “I can’t believe I married a loser like you.”_

_She crossed the rest of the way to the bedroom and slammed the door closed behind her._

_The tension in Terra’s shoulders disappeared. His entire body shook uncontrollably, and he slowly sank to the floor where he stood. He carded his fingers repeatedly through his hair—a habit he had picked up. His chest felt tight; it hurt to breathe. Terra laid his forehead on his knees, wrapped his arms around his legs, and sobbed silently on the floor of his apartment._


End file.
